Wednesday, June 29, 2016

"Magazine Mashup" campaign has some fun promoting the breadth of Canadian magazine content

Starting July 1, Magazines Canada is launching a national promotion campaign across the country. The campaign presents a humorous, eye-catching video series and a curated blog of #MagazineMoment must-reads from Canadian magazines.

"We've broken down all borders for the Canadian Magazine Mashup campaign, which shows just how limitless the content in genuine Canadian magazines can be," says Barbara Bates, executive director of circulation marketing for Magazines Canada.

"This campaign plays to the diversity of interests held by today's consumers. We wanted to create something that shows how much there is to discover at a Canadian magazine stand—there really is something there for everyone," says Matthew Holmes, Magazines Canada CEO.

Magazine Mashups will be released on social media at @MyCdnMags, online at CanadasMagazineStore.ca/video, in retail locations across the country and in partnership with exciting Canadian events, organizations and festivals happening all year.The promotion is part of the 2016-17 Take 2 magazine newsstand campaign, supported by Ontario Media Development Corporation, the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) of the Department of Canadian Heritage, Presse Commerce and Gateway Newstands.

Brunico Communications -- the publishers of Strategy, Media in Canada, Playback, Realscreen and Kidscreen -- has aquired the events marketing company Achilles Media. With the purchase, Brunico adds to its broad and deep portfolio of events the operating rights to the Banff World Media Festival.

[This post has been corrected] The Walrus magazine is asking freelance writers to agree to new contract terms that makes them liable for 50% of any damages or costs arising from lawsuits. What's more, according to a post on the Canadian Media Guild website Story Board, it makes them agree to pay 50% of the publisher's costs in defending* a libel suit if not covered by insurance. This is despite the fact that a freelancer has no way of knowing what, if any, libel insurance the magazine carries. Elsewhere in the contract, the publisher reserves the final right to make "material changes to the work".

“The head scratching thing about this contract is that The Walrus wants to have its cake and eat it too. They want to have total control over the final content, but if there’s a legal problem, they want the writer to pay half,” said [literary agent Derek] Finkle.

Asking a writer to put their assets at risk in a scenario where a publisher can make changes without the writer’s consent, he said, is unacceptable. “I don’t think they meant it this way, but it’s pretty insulting, really,” said Finkle.

[*The post referred to the Canadian Writers Group, a literary agency, rather than the Canadian Media Guild, a union which sponsors the Story Board website.]

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

The federal government has appointed a broad group of experts to help in its review of cultural policies. According to a story from the Globe and Mail, the group of a dozen will meet soon and hold a series of six workshops across the country in the fall as well as holding five meetings with Canadian Heritage minister Mélanie Joly. Many members of the "sounding board" are drawn from television, radio and film. One most relevant to the magazine industry is Ken Whyte, the senior vice-president of public policy for Rogers Communications, previously in charge of all Rogers magazine properties and former publisher and editor of Maclean's. The remainder of the panel are:

Rob Blackie, a producer whose credits include the CBC TV series Republic of Doyle

"The advisory group’s mandate gives few clues as to which issues will be at the forefront of the consultations," the story says, "but helps map an ambitious process that is expected to stretch into next year. The group has no decision-making power, placing final say squarely in the hands of Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, and there is no expectation that the group members will draft a formal report."

A fledgling Uber-style company in Vancouver called ParcelPal Technology, is offering on-demand mail and package delivery on the lower mainland that would bypass Canada Post, particularly during what could be a strike or lockout starting as early as July 2.

"The UBER style Android, iPhone and Web App enables everyday people to become couriers and earn extra cash by making a quick detour to pick up a package and drop it off near where they’re going anyway."

According to a story from CanadianInvestor, ParcelPal, a public company, is undergoing a beta trial to test whether there is an appetite for such a rapid delivery service and whether it might be rolled out nationally. A test, involving 20 letters, showed that virtually all of them were delivered under an hour for $4 each. The system offers real-time tracking and no minimum order size. At the time of writing, the company's website says that 1,483 couriers had signed up and 596 packages had been delivered. (There was no specific indication about subscriber copy delivery for magazines. In 2006 a pilot project, supported in part by Canadian Heritage, was run by a consortium of major Canadian magazine publishers to test the possibility of having their magazines delivered to subscribers in major urban areas (such as the Greater Toronto area (GTA)) via independent newspaper contractors. At the time, it was found to be too expensive. In 2007, Rogers Media tried a similar pilot project of its own which ultimately was discontinued.)

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Canada's History and Kayak share Manitoba magazine of the year honours

The winners for the Maggie Awards, presented by the Manitoba Magazine Publishers Association, were announced at a luncheon on Wednesday.

Canada's History magazine and Kayak: Canada's History Magazine for Kids were co-winners as magazines of the year. (The two magazines are published by the same Winnipeg-based foundation.) Canada’s History also received the award for best editorial feature, writing (for the article “The Twisted Genius of George Feyer” by Brad Mackay) while Kayak won for best cover, illustration (for the issue Meet Our Prime Ministers).

Prairie Fire: A Canadian Magazine of New Writing won two awards for creative writing: best poem or suite of poems (for three poems by Patrick Friesen) and best short fiction story (for
“Hole in the Wall” by Nadia Bozak).

Herizons: Women’s News & Feminist Views also won two awards: best regular column or department (for First Word, by Herizons editor Penni Mitchell) and best cover, photography
(for the issue KC Adams and the Art of Disarming Racism).

Conservator: The Magazine of Ducks Unlimited Canada won the award for best editorial feature, design (for the article “Pit Stops and Pitfalls).

The finalists were chosen from more than 50 entries and winners were selected by industry professionals from Manitoba and across Canada.

The 52-year-old Jewish magazine Outlook has shut down. At one time, the magazine had offices in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Latterly, it was based in Vancouver. According to a story in Canadian Jewish News, Outlook grew out of the left-wing United Jewish Peoples Order (UPJO), a Canadian socialist, political, cultural and educational organization founded in 1926. The magazine's readers was made up mostly of members of UJPO; at its peak, the magazine had 2,000 subscribers.

Roz Usiskin, a past president of the Winnipeg branch of UJPO and an UJPO member since 1945, called Outlook’s closure “ a loss for Canadian Jewry. We lost an alternate voice. That voice was so essential, especially at a time when we have such deep divisions in the Jewish community over the Israeli-Palestinian issue.”

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

In a blunt message to readers and supporters, the editor Tanya Andrusieczko and publisher Rhiannon Ward of Regina's Briarpatch magazine say they are in serious financial trouble. "The truth is, we're currently running on empty," they say of the indy title. They need to raise $15,000 by July 30 "in order to stay upright".

"Right now, we have only enough money in the bank to print the next issue. We aren’t keeping up with the financial demands of publishing a magazine that honours our commitments to fair pay and affordable access to media for all. We have an alarmingly low balance to cover the basic operational costs of publishing a small magazine. We can’t go on like this."

The magazine says it needs donations, sustaining support and new subscribers to achieve three things: doubling the reader and revenue base, paying writers and artists a fair wage and printing the magazine.

Carousel magazine, the literary and art hybrid, is getting out of Toronto, the walled city and into greater Ontario with its summer tour. Events have already happened in Ottawa, but the next ones where the editors meet writers and readers and show off issue 36* will be

Canada's History and Kayak giving out free Canada Day copies

Canada's History and Kayak: Canada’s History Magazine for Kids are ramping up special issues for Canada Day, with free copies being distributed at Canada Day celebrations across the country. The promotion is part of a test run for 2017, when the magazines are pulling out the stops for the country's sesquicentennial. The expanded special distribution is

85,000 Canada’s History (English)

15,000 Canada’s History (French)

25,000 Kayak: Canada’s History for Kids (English)

15,000 Kayak: Canada’s History for Kids (French)

Both magazines are published by the Winnipeg-based Canada's History Society. Its usual paid and verified circulation is about 35,000, including 28,000 paid subscribers and 4,000 newsstand sales.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

LRC, the Literary Review of Canada, has announced that Sarmishta Subramanian has been appointed editor-in-chief. Subramanian has a deep resume in magazines, and has been most recently managing editor at Maclean's magazine, handling arts, culture and books coverage as well as editing long-form features. (She will remain on the masthead at Maclean's as an editor-at-large.) Her appointment coincides with the 25th anniversary of LRC being marked this year. and she said

“I’m honoured and thrilled to be joining the LRC, particularly in such a significant year. I look forward to working with the magazine’s staff, and its community of writers and contributors, to re-energize this lively and important Canadian voice for ideas and books.”

As well as Maclean's, Subramanian has worked as an editor at This Magazine, Saturday Night and The Walrus, as well as being an editor at the National Post and Toronto Star, and contributing radio documentaries for CBC Radio’s The Sunday Edition.

Two important retail magazine associations in the U.S. have decided to merge. The new, combined organization will be known as Magazines and Books at Retail Association (MBR). According to a story in Folio: it combines the Periodical and Book Association of America (PBAA) and the International Periodical Distributors Association (IPDA). The merger was announced at the annual Magazines at Retail conference.PBAA was initially a not-for-profit organization whose members consisted of organizations that published and distributed magazines and books on newsstands, both in the U.S. and globally. IPDA was a trade association principally of distributors who focussed on retail sale of magazines and books.

Jay Felts, chairman of the IPDA board, and Will Michalopoulos, chairman of the PBAA board, said in a letter to members of both groups:

“Representing the boards of each organization, it is our promise that the new association will deliver focused, effective programs and services to all members, irrespective of size, and deliver solutions to address today’s industry dynamics in a manner that meets the speed of change. Together, all members of our supply channel will offer a fresh and strengthened voice for the industry—an industry association for our future.”

The finalists have been announced for the Maggie Awards, presented by the Manitoba Magazine Publishers Association. The winners will find out who they are at a June 22 luncheon ceremony at Red River College in Winnipeg. The finalists (see below) were chosen from among more than 50 entries. There are five finalists for the top prize, magazine of the year: Canada’s History, Conservator, Geez, Herizons and Kayak.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Atlantic News, the much-loved Halifax newsstand is offering its customers a "surprise bag" wrapped to hide what is inside. In this case, sight unseen, you pay $6.50, including tax, to find out what magazine you get.

Tom Gierasimczuk no longer publisher and GM of Vancouver andWestern Living

[This post has been updated] Tom Gierasimczuk, the publisher and general manager of Vancouver Magazine and Western Living, has been released from the job by the owner, Yellow Pages, which acquired the magazines from TC Media a little over a year ago.

Gierasimczuk had left Canada Wide Media in October 2014 to head up the TC Media western division and continued in a similar role with YP Media after the takeover. Previously, he had been editor-in-chief of Marketing magazine and before that of up!, theinflight magazine published for Westjet by Red Point Media of Calgary. (In January of this year, he was named a director of Creative BC, a non-profit organization launched by the province to promote creative industries.)[Update: Vancouver editor Max Fawcett has also been let go, although we understand he will be replaced. Western Living editor-in-chief Anicka Quin is to be editor-in-chief for bothVanmag and WL. (Fawcett moved from Alberta Oiljust in October to take over from John Burns.) ]

Playboy has dropped copyright lawsuits against two Canadian magazine publishers for reproducing revealing photos of supermodel Kate Moss. According to a Canadian Press story, named in the suits were Contempo Publishing of Toronto, which publishes Sharp -- Canada's magazine for men -- and Montreal's Indecent Xposure, which publishes the online IX Daily, which features articles on fashion, music and culture in Canada.IX Daily had published the Kate Moss spread that had appeared two years ago in Playboy. It took down the offending material as soon as Playboy objected in mid-2014, said founder Nick Younes, who called the suits, which totalled $100,000, "crazy". Sharp published its Moss pictorial with numerous images under the heading of "The Kate Moss Anthology."

"We settled out of court," said Bob Sotiriadis, the Montreal lawyer acting for Playboy.

The revolving door of culture in Ontario continues to spin on its hinges with the appointment of Eleanor McMahon, the MPP for Burlington, as minister of tourism, culture and sport as a result of the shuffle of her cabinet by Ontario premier Kathleen Wynn. McMahon is the...what?...9th culture minister in roughly 14 years. And like many of her recent predecessors, she seems to have almost no track record in terms of cultural events or policy.

McMahon's main claims to fame have been as director of public affairs at Petro-Canada, vice president at United Way Ottawa and executive director of public affairs at the Ontario Medical Association. She launched a campaign to improve road safety and road sharing as a direct result of the 2006 death of her husband OPP sergeant Greg Stobbart in a cycle-car collision and in his honour lobbied for the passage of passage of Greg’s Law in 2009 to reduce the number of suspended drivers and repeat offenders on Ontario’s roads.

She was first elected to the legislature in 2014 and served as parliamentary assistant to the ministry of natural resources and forestry.

She succeeds Michael Couteau, who had relatively little feeling for the culture side of his ministry, any more than his predecessors, Michael Chan and Aileen Carroll. (Couteau seems to have been most invested in the funding of sports -- such as the announcement last week of $16.76 million to support athletes and sporting events.)

The mandate letter for Couteau, which presumably applies to McMahon, was to create an arts policy framework and unveil an Ontario Culture Strategy this month. However now, ostensibly because of the shuffle, the strategy is being postponed indefinitely. Perhaps to allow McMahon time to swot up on the sector. We can only hope.

Monday, June 13, 2016

I've been reading about the rise of customized B2Me magazines, print publications tailored or "versioned" to the interests and characteristics of the audience. D. Edward Tree has written in Publishing Executiveabout a Belgian magazine which has a print run of 150,000 but with no two copies alike.

"Changes in the advertising market are creating a greater need and opportunity for customized magazines. Programmatic advertising in digital media has demonstrated the power of getting the right message to the right person at the right time, undermining the “spray and pray” approach often associated with advertising in traditional media.

"ZEB, a multi-brand fashion [retailer and] publisher, uses customer data — such as purchase history, age, gender, favorite brands, and place of residence — to customize the text and images on multiple pages of its customer “magazine,” which is arguably a catalog."

There's a video showing how the company does it. It's a long way from a belly band or a cover wrap. But part of the thesis is that, while it is expensive, it may be no more so than direct mail.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

At the end of this month, Nadia Szilvassy is stepping down as publisher of Brick, the international literary journal, turning over her responsibilities to poet and editor Laurie D. Graham.

Szilvassy has been with Brick since January 2007, first as managing editor and then, in 2011, taking over the role of publisher from Michael Redhill. As Brick editor Michael Helm said at the launch of the new issue at the Lucky Shrike Bar on June 6, 2016,

"Brick has grown nationally and internationally under Nadia's guidance and great judgment…. The unbroken rhythm of working at a literary magazine can be pleasurable one day and feel like a dangerous pressure vortex the next. Nadia has danced us beautifully through these vortices."

In the announcement in her publisher's note in the new issue, Szilvassy said

"It's been over nine years since I first arrived at Brick. No spring chicken, but nonetheless a fledgling in the field of publishing, I found myself all of a sudden swept up into the midst of countless passionate conversations about writing, art, and life that reached from our Toronto hub out and around and across the world. My head still spins."

Graham has been an editor on Brick's masthead since issue 93 (Summer 2014) and who previously held the role of circulation manager and assistant editor from 2010 to 2014. Graham is the author of two books of poetry, Rove (Hagios Press, 2013) and Settler Education (McClelland & Stewart, 2016), and has taught writing at Humber and Fanshawe Colleges and the University of Guelph.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Maisonneuve magazine, Friday night was named magazine of the year (for the third time since 2004) at the National Magazine Awards. In addition the national quarterly magazine based in Montreal won four gold and 1 silver medals. The gold awards were for health & medicine (“Worth the Risk” by Alison
Motluk), photojournalism & photo Essay, and best new magazine photographer (both
for “The Maidan” by Marta Iwanek). The silver was for best magazine cover
(“TV We Hate Issue”).The jury said of the magazine

“Maisonneuve fulfills its bold mandate of ‘banishing boring,’ clearly striving to engage,
inform and inspire. From its refreshing and imaginative art direction to its passionate
editorial voice, the magazine feels like its constantly evolving, yet at the same time
seems to connect with a sense of familiarity with its readers.”

The Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement was awarded to Kim Pittaway, an award-winning writer, former Chatelaine editor, teacher and mentor, recognizing her career
contribution to Canadian magazines and her inspiration to creators. Read more about
Kim Pittaway and the Outstanding Achievement Award at magazine-awards.com/oa.

CBCNews.ca was last night named digital publication of the year in the inaugural Digital Publishing Awards, presented by the National Magazine Awards Foundation. It also won in three other gold medals in other categories (see below).The DPAs, as they'll doubtless be called, precede the long-established National Magazine Awards which take place Friday evening as the culmination of Magazines Week. Previous to this the Magawards have endeavoured to recognize digital publishing -- as opposed to traditional print -- in a variety of ways; the latest is this new awards program. Joyce Byrne, the president of the foundation (and publisher of Avenue Calgary) said:

“The
inaugural Digital Publishing Awards have been a great success. It
was wonderful to have so many of Canada’s best digital creators gathered
together to recognize outstanding journalism, celebrate their exceptional
creativity and learn from each other. As I look at the work of the nominees and
winners this year, it’s clear that digital publishing has a bright future in
Canada.”

Wednesday, June 08, 2016

Noreen Flanagan, of Elle Canada, named editor of the year in CSME Editor's Choice awards

Noreen Flanagan

Noreen Flanagan of Elle Canada magazine was named editor of the year at the 2016 Editor's Choice awards from the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors (CSME). This and other awards were presented at a special event on Wednesday night during the MagNet conference.Flanagan's Elle Canada was also named magazine of the year in medium circulation, tied with Today's Parent, edited by Sasha Emmons, which also won as best tablet, for best web editorial (TodaysParent.com) and the Jim Cormier award for display writing.

Small circulation magazine of the year was presented to BCBusiness, edited by Matt O'Grady.

Trade magazine of the year was Ignite Magazine, editor Laura Bickle.

Best tablet magazine was Today's Parent, edited by Sasha Emmons and with a team including Stephanie Han-Kim, Jamie Piper, Sanjay Pinnock, Nicole Chung and Nica
Patricio.

Custom magazine of the year was Mercedes-Benz magazine, edited by Natasha Mekhail.

Best front-of-the-book was a tie between BCBusiness, edited by Matt O'Grady and Fairmont Magazine, edited by Natasha Mekhail.

Best art integration was won by Western Living magazine, edited by Anicka Quinn and art directed by Paul Roelofs.

The CMC Awards are presented to celebrate the creativity of Canadian circulators, recognizing and honouring excellent, professional circulation work being done in the Canadian publishing industry. This year's awards were presented at a reception Wednesday evening during the MagNet conference in Toronto and the winners are:

Audience Development – Canada’s History Magazine. (The award is made on the basis of meeting strategic objectives with a circulation promotion, innovation, execution and results.)

CMC Scholarship – Fiona Wong (House and Home) (formerly known as the Caren King Scholarship Award, this recognizes an individual’s initiative and achievement, and encourages further professional development. The scholarship is worth $3,000.)

Vendor Award – Cindy Chang (CDS Global) (recognizing an individual working with a vendor in support of the Canadian publishing industry – a remarkable person who helps magazine circulation experts excel at what they do. This includes those working in distribution, delivery, fulfillment and database support.)

Magazine of the Year – Outdoor Canada Specials (for outstanding achievement in overall performance, consistent with ongoing promotional efforts throughout 2015 that combined to reach stated circulation goals. This could include retail programs that span numerous issues, multiple subscription campaigns over the course of the year, or digital initiatives that helped to achieve circulation targets.)

Lifetime Achievement – Mark Hamill (Rogers) (The award recognizes a body of work with an extraordinary legacy of achievement in magazine marketing.)

UofTMed, a magazine published by the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, has won the 2016 Robert F. Sibley Award from the Washington, DC-based Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. The Sibley Award, presented annually since 1943, is the top prize in North America for alumni magazines and UofTMed is the first Canadian publication to receive it.

The Sibley judges praised UofTMed for its creative story ideas and striking, well-integrated design. The team that produces UofTMed is led by editor Heidi Singer, art director Raj Grainger, and publisher Liam Mitchell.

Marketing magazine was presented with the prestigious magazine of the year award at the 62nd annual Canadian Business Media Awards in Toronto on Tuesday night. Honorable mentions went to finalists BCBusiness and The Medical Post.

The highest number of gold medals went to University Affairs magazine, which won for best issue of the year, best cover, best photography and best art direction of an opening spread or complete feature. CPA magazine won three gold medals for best how-to or series, best profile of a company and best infrastructure/resource article plus three silver medals.

Precedent magazine had the distinction of winning in a new category for best media brand and winning both gold and silver for best art direction of an entire issue. The Harvey Southam Award for career achievement was presented to Michel Dongois, senior journalist at Profession Santé. He was recognized for his outstanding professionalism, integrity and humanism.[Full list of winners]

Monday, June 06, 2016

There's a tribute to Carl Mollins that many of us would like to have made about us. Mollins is fondly remembered as a multi-faceted journalist. But the tribute is from The Stop CommunityFood Centre which praises the 30 years of help he and his wife Joan gave to its meal program, community kitchen and gardens. He recently died (May 28) at the age of 84 after a fall on the street along Toronto's lakeshore.

In the 30 years the Mollins family has supported our work, The Stop has grown enormously from the Church Hall at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields. Reverend Cam Russell and other congregants stopped to listen to people in the community, and understood that people were falling through the cracks and needed support as they tried to make their way back from the margins and onto the page. Today, we are still talking and listening to people in the community — thousands every year — over meals and in community kitchens and gardens, and we are still advocating with them for a more dignified life and more equitable city.

For a nice background on her dad and his long and varied career, stretching from Westminster Press in the UK through Canadian Press and Maclean's, see the obituary by his daughter Julie.

Alberta Oil magazine today launched its list of the 200 top energy companies in Canada; at the luncheon where the issue was unveiled, the keynote was given by Melissa Blake, the mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, where the Fort McMurray fire happened. A total of $15,525 was raised out of ticket sales, the Builders’ Circle and the Foreman’s Club for The United Way, Fort McMurray.In introducing the 200 print issue and its comprehesive online package, Nick Wilson, the editor of Alberta Oil said:

"We recognize the impact Fort McMurray has made on this province and our country. The past month has shown us a lot of tragedy, compassion, hope and pride. The individual stories of tragedy, loss and sacrifice, heroism and the kindness of strangers tell the tale of the whole—the spirit of Fort McMurray."